{ "slug": "suan-zao-ren-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Suan Zao Ren Tang", "chinese": "酸枣仁汤", "english": "Sour Jujube Decoction", "alternate": [ "Zizyphus Combination", "Suan Zao Ren Wan" ] }, "category": "calm-spirit", "source": { "text": "Jin Gui Yao Lue (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet)", "author": "Zhang Zhong-jing", "dynasty": "Han", "year": "c. 220" }, "summary": "Five herbs for the sleep problem of Liver blood deficiency: you lie down tired and cannot switch off, you wake easily, your mouth is dry, your mind is a little irritable, and your heart flutters. The old, simple sleep formula for the person who is worn down rather than wound up.", "picture": "The mind rests in the Liver's blood at night the way a boat rests on water. When the water is low the boat bumps the bottom. Jujube seed refills the water; the other four quiet the ripples.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "heart-blood-deficiency", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/heart-blood-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/heart-blood-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "liver-blood-deficiency", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-blood-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-blood-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "heart-and-spleen-deficiency", "role": "for sleep", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Hard to fall asleep, light sleep", "Waking tired after a full night", "Irritability and restlessness in a tired person", "Palpitations", "Dizziness", "Dry mouth and throat", "Night sweats", "Mild anxiety that is worse at night" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale or slightly red, a little dry.", "pulse": "Thin and wiry." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Suan Zao Ren", "grams": "15", "role": "chief", "job": "Sour jujube seed nourishes Liver blood and calms the Heart. The first herb for sleep.", "herb_slug": "spine-date-seed", "english": "Sour Jujube Seed", "chinese": "酸枣仁", "latin": "Semen Ziziphi Spinosae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/spine-date-seed", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/spine-date-seed" } }, { "pinyin": "Fu Ling", "grams": "6", "role": "deputy", "job": "Poria calms the mind and drains damp.", "herb_slug": "indian-bread", "english": "Poria", "chinese": "茯苓", "latin": "Poria", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/indian-bread", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/indian-bread" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Mu", "grams": "6", "role": "deputy", "job": "Anemarrhena clears the mild heat and dryness that come with blood deficiency.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "english": "Rhizome of Common Anamarrhena", "chinese": "知母", "latin": "Rhizoma Anemarrhenae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena" } }, { "pinyin": "Chuan Xiong", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Ligusticum moves the Liver's qi and blood so the tonic does not sit still.", "herb_slug": "chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root", "english": "Chuanxiong Rhizome, Szechuan Lovage Root", "chinese": "川芎", "latin": "Rhizoma Chuanxiong", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Gan Cao", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Licorice harmonizes and soothes.", "herb_slug": "root-of-ural-licorice", "english": "Raw Licorice Root", "chinese": "甘草", "latin": "Radix Glycyrrhizae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-ural-licorice", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-ural-licorice" } } ], "actions": [ "Nourishes blood and calms the spirit", "Clears mild heat and settles irritability" ], "how_it_works": "A large dose of jujube seed feeds the Liver blood the mind sleeps in. Anemarrhena cools the dry irritability. Ligusticum keeps the Liver moving so the sour seed does not clamp it shut. Poria and licorice settle everything. It is small, gentle, and fast, which is why it has lasted eighteen centuries.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heat with a red tongue tip", "add": [ "Huang Lian", "Zhi Zi" ], "note": "Coptis and gardenia cool the Heart." }, { "for": "Palpitations that frighten", "add": [ "Long Gu", "Mu Li" ], "note": "Dragon bone and oyster shell anchor." }, { "for": "Deeper blood deficiency", "add": [ "Dang Gui", "Bai Shao" ], "note": "Or combine with Si Wu Tang." } ], "cautions": [ "Not for insomnia from excess: a hot, loud, phlegmy, or food-stuffed picture with a thick coat. That needs clearing, not nourishing.", "Mild. If sleep is unchanged after two weeks, the pattern is deeper and the formula should change.", "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, with the last dose an hour before bed", "decoction": "One bag a day, the larger half an hour before bed", "course": "Two to six weeks." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "gui-pi-tang", "difference": "For the sleeper who is also tired after meals, bloated, pale, and worried. Feeds the Spleen as well as the Heart." }, { "slug": "tian-wang-bu-xin-dan", "difference": "For the sleeper with heat and dryness: night sweats, mouth ulcers, a red peeled tongue." }, { "slug": "gan-mai-da-zao-tang", "difference": "Three food-grade herbs for restlessness, crying, and yawning from a dry, upset Heart. Even gentler." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "suan-zao-ren-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/suan-zao-ren-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Suan Zao Ren Tang with the characters 酸枣仁汤. Five ingredients beginning with Zizyphus (sour jujube seed)." }, "conditions": [ "insomnia", "palpitations", "anxiety", "night-sweats", "dizziness" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and cautions." }, { "title": "Zhang Zhong-jing, Jin Gui Yao Lue, c. 220", "note": "Source text." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/suan-zao-ren-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/suan-zao-ren-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }